John Scalzi

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi is the dazzling follow-up to The Collapsing Empire - a space opera in a universe on the brink of destruction. The Interdependency, humanity's interstellar empire, is on the verge of collapse. The Flow, the extra-dimensional pathway between the stars, is disappearing, leaving planets stranded. Billions of lives will be lost - unless desperate measures can be taken. Emperox Grayland II, the leader of the Interdependency, is ready to take those measures. But it's not that easy. There are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth - or an opportunity for them to ascend to power. While Grayland prepares for disaster, others prepare for civil war. A war that will take place in the halls of power, the markets of business and the altars of worship as much as between spaceships. Nothing about this power struggle will be simple or easy . . . and all of human civilization is at stake.

The Consuming Fire

Shona Tiger

** spoiler alert **
           3.75 stars to be honest -

But giving it 3 stars, because it's great fun (I laughed a few times), but a bit draggy sometimes. Also, because I'm being petty, I wish it were longer and I'm annoyed it ends on a cliffhanger. (Keen for the next one!). Not sure the Dalasyslan thread was comprehensive enough; maybe the next book will explore that a bit more. 

Oh, and the gratuitous swearing by one of the characters? Really gratuitous, adds nothing :( Also, that whole thread about the religious man that went nowhere was quite disheartening. Wonder if he makes an appearance in the next book?

Ryan LaFerney

The Consuming Fire is the middle book within The Interdependency series. The book is in many ways quintessential Scalzi - there's political commentary, social commentary, space renegades, underhanded maneuvering, and, um, something a character refers to as "banging." Booklist compared this series to Game of Thrones and Dune. It's a fairly apt comparison. Scalzi is always good for an escapist read, his tight prose and humor assure this but I appreciate that he also fills his fun sci-fi novels with some guts and brains as well.

The previous book, The Collapsing Empire left us on a bit of a cliffhanger, with the future of the Interdependency uncertain, the Flow shoals slowly disappearing, and the only planet available to sustain a massive human population assumed to be blockaded and protected by the remaining Nohamapetan sibling, Ghreni.

The first book made everything seem, if not simple, than at least a fairly straight-forward space opera. The second book immediately complicates everything for our characters while also deepening the universe. It makes for a fairly intriguing read.

What I liked: The tight prose, the economical world-building, the nods to Golden and Silver age SF (without all the racist, homophobic, sexist crap), and the societal and political commentary (which is for the most part well done and mirrors common recurring trends—personal wealth and power over the good of the whole).

However, like others, I wonder if Scalzi's underlining message is a little thin or maybe too heavy handed. The message of the book is obvious. Scalzi's underlying message about climate change deniers in terms of a collapsing wormhole network works fairly well in terms of a plot device soap box thing but I don't think he is convincing anyone new about the dangers of global warming because his readership seems to be fairly enlightened folks. Which makes me wonder: is a message rendered non useful if the audience receiving the message is fairly educated in such matters to begin with? 

I sadly doubt Scalzi will convert anyone to the truth with The Interdependency series. Most folks I know that read Scalzi would agree with today's scientists. There are only a few hacks that would pick up this novel (unaware of Scalzi's social and political persuasions), get pissed off by his politics and scientific truth, and walk away still denying current events.... 

Then again, I'm being a bit negative. Books (sci-fi books in particular) possess the power to challenge the status quo. So if this book could help convince some right-wing nut who happens to be a climate change denier that climate change is in fact real, let it be so! 

This is another entertaining novel from Scalzi. It might not be one of my top favorites from him but the mixture of science, history, politics, and action is well worth your time.

Completely engaging, I breezed through this book like I do all Scalzi's work — great fun!

Liza 

I would rate this a 3.45. I was a big fan of The Collapsing Empire and the world Scalzi built remains very interesting, as were the plot twists related to the history of the Flow. 

What I found myself getting kind of tired of were the characters. The normal "Scalzi snark" has never bothered me before and has made for some really fun stories, but it became a bit grinding here. The characters all felt kind of the same and fell a bit flat, and I found myself internally rolling my eyes at some punchy line at least once every few pages. The dialogue (both between characters and internal) felt forced. Almost every conversation had to have some kind of super witty, tired catchphrase or mic drop moment that you'd expect to find in a witty viral tweet - I don't really know how else to describe it. It did make for a few fun/relatable Kindle highlights, but overall it was just too much.

In short - really interesting world, tiring and flat characters.

New York Times Best Seller USA Today Best Seller io9's New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books You Need to Put On Your Radar This Fall Kirkus' SF/F Books to Watch Out for in 2018 Popular Mechanics Best Books of 2018 (So Far) Goodreads' Most Anticipated Fantasy and Science Fiction Books The Consuming Fire—the New York Times and USA Today bestselling sequel to the 2018 Hugo Award Best Novel finalist and 2018 Locus Award-winning The Collapsing Empire—an epic space-opera novel in the bestselling Interdependency series, from the Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi The Interdependency—humanity’s interstellar empire—is on the verge of collapse. The extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible is disappearing, leaving entire systems and human civilizations stranded. Emperox Grayland II of the Interdependency is ready to take desperate measures to help ensure the survival of billions. But arrayed before her are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth—or at the very least an opportunity to an ascension to power. While Grayland prepares for disaster, others are prepare for a civil war. A war that will take place in the halls of power, the markets of business and the altars of worship as much as it will between spaceships and battlefields. The Emperox and her allies are smart and resourceful, as are her enemies. Nothing about this will be easy... and all of humanity will be caught in its consuming fire. The Interdependency Series 1. The Collapsing Empire 2. The Consuming Fire At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ben Nathan

I forgot how much I enjoy the characters and the setting in these books. I laughed often and burned through this. Wonderful ending and looking forward to reading the finale.

Les Reynolds

Entertaining, fast paced, full of fun characters.

Emma Daniels

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi is the dazzling follow-up to The Collapsing Empire – a space opera in a universe on the brink of destruction. The Interdependency, humanity’s interstellar empire, is on the verge of collapse. The Flow, the extra-dimensional pathway between the stars, is disappearing, leaving planets stranded. Billions of lives will be lost – unless desperate measures can be taken. Emperox Grayland II, the leader of the Interdependency, is ready to take those measures. But it’s not that easy. There are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth – or an opportunity for them to ascend to power. While Grayland prepares for disaster, others prepare for civil war. A war that will take place in the halls of power, by the altars of worship and amongst the titans of industry as much as between spaceships. Nothing about this power struggle will be simple or easy . . . and all of human civilization is at stake. Praise for The Collapsing Empire 'Provocative and unexpected' The Wall Street Journal 'Scalzi continues to be almost insufferably good at his brand of fun but think-y sci-fi adventure' Kirkus Reviews 'Scalzi builds a fascinating new interstellar civilization in order to destroy it....[The Collapsing Empire is] amusing escapism full of guts and brains' Ars Technica